Manufacture of



JWM 7,2,

NETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

JEREMIAH ESSEX, OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

MANUFACTURE OF COTTON-BATTING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 4,372, dated February 10, 1846.

To 'all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JEREMIAH Essnx, of Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Method of Making Glazed Cotton vWadding, sometimes called Pelisse lVadding, some of which improvements are applicableto other purposes, andthat the following 1s a full, clear, and exact description of the principle or character thereof, which distinguishes my invention from all other things before known and of the manner o-f making, constructing, and using the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal elevation of the machine for making the bat or sheet of wadding; Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3, a longitudinal section of a part.

thereof (to exhibit the manner in whichlthe different slivers or sheets are laid one upon another to make the required thickness); Fig. 4, is a perspective representation of the machine for glazing the bat or wadding; Fig. 5, a longitudinal vertical section,v and Fig. 6, an elevation of the side of the machine opposite to that from which the perspective view is taken, to represent the manner of communicating motio-n to the rollers and glazing belts.

The same letters the figures.

The methods heretofore practised of making the bat of the desired thickness for wadding are to deliver th'e broad sliver or sheet of cotton from one carding engine onto an apron which moves back and forth under the doffer until a suiiicient number of layers have been obtained; or, so to construct the engine as to deliver a single sliver or sheet of the required thickness; or, to carry up the slivers from the carding engines vertically to aprons so arranged as to unite them all into one bat. The defects of these methods are obvious, for with the rstthe sheet of bat or wadding must either be made very short, or be spliced end to end (a very imperfect operation) with thesecond, the reciprocating apron on which it is delivered must be of an enormous length, occupying an amount of room too great vfor the convenience of an establishment; andV with the third, the slivers which are vdrawn up over head frequently break, the arrangement of indicate likevparts in all belts must be necessarily very complete, and

from their situation the slivers are much eX- posed to re, and indeed from the number of accidents which have occurred none of the establishments which manufacture cotton wadding can be insured.

The object of the first part of my invention is to avoid these objections and inconveniences, and it consists in ranging a series of carding engines, one behind another over an apron which has a continuous movement, so that the sliver or sheet of cotton from the second card is delivered on top of that from the first, the one from the third, onto that of the second, and soon to the endof the series, the number of carding engines being in proportion to the quality and thickness of the bat or wadding desired; it being a fact well known to those versed in the art of working fibrous materials, that the thinner each sliver, the more perfect will be the bat, and it willbe evident that with my method this can be refined to any desired extent."V

As to the glazing operation, but one method has been practised (although several have been proposed and patented) which consists in conducting the bat on an "endless apron 'to a vat where it is glazed on one side and then conducted to a second `vat to be glazed on the other side, and from-'this delivered on to another endless apron which passes through a kiln or hot airA chamber to be dried. This method is not only very imperfect, but at-tended with greateXpense and danger, for that face ofthe bat-which rests on the apron is not exposed to the direct action of the heated'air, and therefore dries slowly,which fact renders it necessary to raise the temperature of the kiln and hot air chamber which very soon destroys the apron, and .often subjects the whole establishment to loss'by fire. v The second part of my invention, itis believed, obviates all these objections, andconsists in passing the glazed bat or wadding from the glazing apparatus through the kiln or hot air chamber over aseries -of open reels arranged side by side, on one plane, and extending from end to end of the kiln, one reel delivering the bat on to another, and so on to the last in the series where it is delivered out. If the bat is glazed on both lsides vbefore it is introduced into the kiln,

but one set of reels is used; but I prefer to glaze it irst on one side, dry this by passing it through the kiln on one set of reels, and deliver it at the other end to the second less apron (G) glazed; in this way I avoid what otherwise would be a serious inconvenience.

In the accompanying drawings of the machine for making the bat, represented in Figs. l, 2, and 3, (A) is a `base frame on the top (B) of which the series of carding engines (C, C', C, C,) four in number (which may be increased or decreased at` pleasure) with their doffers (D) ranged across the frame, parallel with, and back of each other. From each of the doffers an inclined board or sheet of metal (E) eX- tends to an aperture (F), in the top (B) for the purpose of conducting the sliver or sheet of cotton from the doft'er on to an endthat passes around and is carried by rollers (I-I, H) at each end, there being intermediate supporting rollers (I),

which, if desired, may be driven by belts to` assist the end rollers in carrying the apron.

In this way as the endless apron (G) travels with a velocity equal to the delivery of the doffers, the sliver or sheet of cotton (K) from the dofer of the first card (C) is delivered on the apron, the sliver from the card (C) is delivered on to the sliver from` the first, and so on through the series. And

after the last has been delivered thebat,

passes under a pressure roller (L) placed above the roller at the delivery end of the machine, and from this it passes and is wound on to a roller (M) that moves up manner, and from the same first mover, or

from one of the carding engines motion 1s communicated to the roller (I-I) and from this, by a series of belts (P) to all the intermediate rollers (I), and the other end roller From the above description it will be evident that the machine may be constructed with any desired number of carding engines, and that the operation of any of them in the series may be suspended at pleasure; and also, that the intermediate rollers (I) may be dispensed with, and a permanent floor for the apron to run on substituted. After the bat has been formed and rolled up o-n the roller (M), it is taken to the glazing machine, and placed in appropriate bearings (a) at one end of the machine, and resting on a roller (b) which by its motion unwinds the bat and passes it over two other rollers b b on the same plane, from the last of which it passes around another roller (c), on to an apron (d) that runs at the lower part of its circuit in a vat (e) that contains the glazing material, and by which it is imparted to that surface of the bat' which is in contact with the apron while it passes from the roller(c) to another (7") around and over which it passes to the top of the first of the series of reels (g) which passes it to the second, and so on to the end of the series, where it is delivered on to another glazing apron (d) similar to the one described, and running in a vat (e) of glazing material. This glazing apron (d) is placed higher than the first, and receives the bat from the last reel with the unglazed surface downward to which the glazing material is imparted, and then the bat passes under and over a roller k to the first of the second series of reels (i) ranged directly over the first series, and from the last of this series the bat is rolled up on a roller (la) which receives its motion from a driving roller (Z) below it, and on which itrests.

All the reels (g) and (i) are constructed alike and of the same diameter and length,

and consist of a shaft (m) with two heads or sets of arms connected together with metallic rods ranged around and near to their peripheries, and at such distance apart as to support the bat in their rotation, and leave a free passage for the action of the hot air, the reels to be in length a little more than the width of the bat. One end of the shaft of each of these reels is provided with a miter cog-wheel, and the two series are driven by two horizontal shafts (n) that have each a series of miter cog-wheels (o), corresponding with those on the shafts of the reels and by which all the reels are driven with equal velocities: the two shafts (n n) being made to rotate with equal velocities by means of the vertical shaft (p), and miter wheels (g), or in any other known manner. The shafts of the two end-reels of the lower series are provided with a cog-wheel (1' 1') to communicate motion by the wheels (t t t) to the rollers that carry the two glazing belts (d, ol) and one of them b means of wheels (s, s, s) to the roller (Il), that drives the roller (k) on which the bat is wound. And the rollers (I), Z2', 6), that introduce the bat to this machine, receive motion by belts (u) first from a pulley (o) on the axis of the roller (w) that carries the glazing apron (d) and then from one to another of the series. The two glazing aprons (al, OZ) each pass over two rollers (fw, fw), but these instead of being cylindrical are formed with three pulleys (as shown separately at Fig. 7) one at each end and the other in the middle,

and cords pass from the pulleys on one to those on the other, and between the rollers the aprons run on permanent beds (y, y) to prevent them from yielding to the pressure of the rollers (f) and (h) which press the bat on to the aprons, to receive the glazing material, by springs or other analogous device.

This machine should be placed in a kiln or chamber heated by means of flues or currents of hot air from a furnace or stoves; or the shafts of the reels may be made hollow for the introduction of steam, 0r hot air, and in the latter case the tubular shafts may be pierced with small holes to permit the heated air to escape and act on the bat.

Instead of the two series of reels, one only may be used by so arranging the glazing or sizing apparatus as to put the glazing material on both sides of the bat before it is passed on to the reels; but I prefer the arrangement above described with two sets of reels.

It will be obvious that the first part of my invention is applicable to various operations in the manufacture of fibrous and textile substances such as making bats of wool and other animal fibers for felting, and all other operations in which it is necessary, to form a bat of several thicknesses of sliver of the width of the doifer of a carding engine. And it will be equally obvious that the second part of my invention is also applicable to all operations in manufactures which require fragile webs or tissues to be conducted from sizing or glazing apparatus to be exposed to the action of heat or currents of air.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. Arranging a series of carding engines one behind another and over a single apron to form a bat of several thicknesses of slivers, as herein described.V Y,

2. And I also claim as my invention the arrangement of one or more series of reels that rotate by means of cog wheels or other equivalent to convey the bat, in combina-tion with the glazing or sizing apparatus for glazing or sizing and drying cotton or other bat or wadding, substantially as herein described. y

JEREMIAH ESSEX.

Witnesses:

CHS. M. KELLER, A. P. BROWNE. 

